xml-dev - Re: XML is boring (long --- sorry)

["Michael Kay" <M.H.Kay@eng.icl.co.uk>]

>If Microsoft, for example, were to store all their Office
files in XML then
>you could use any other tool to work on the files.


I regret that this statement is no more true than saying "if
they stored all their data in ASCII then you could use any
other tool...".

Storing data in XML is a useful step towards this goal, but
it is not sufficient. The XML constructs used also need to
be well-documented. Given the choice between a
well-documented XML format and a well-documented non-XML
format, the difference is not whether you can process the
data, but how easy it is.

Anyway, I question the goal. I still believe encapsulation
is a Good Thing. I don't think the world would be a better
place if every application revealed all its internal data
structures (or even just its persistent internal data).

Mike Kay



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